


Ke Kaumaha

by Rosefield



Series: Low [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mystery, Sick Steve, Sick Steve McGarrett, diabetic!steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-12-18 13:59:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18251267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosefield/pseuds/Rosefield
Summary: Steve's life has been pretty good since the team found out about his diabetes. He's not so lonely anymore. But a phone call changes everything, and suddenly, being 'Low' might just be the least of Steve's problems.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone! So, once upon a time, I wrote a story called Low. Then, i started writing some timestamps for it. And now, over a year since the original was published, it's time for the official sequal! I hope you like it. Again, sorry to put Steve through so much. Also, to clarify, the reason Steve is part of the SEALs despite diabetes is because I decided he could be:) and that's the same reason he has so many issues with controlling his blood sugar, because it makes for a better story Hi Everyone! So, once upon a time, I wrote a story called Low. Then, i started writing some timestamps for it. And now, over a year since the original was published, it's time for the official sequal! I hope you like it. Again, sorry to put Steve through so much. Also, to clarify, the reason Steve is part of the SEALs despite diabetes is because I decided he could be:) and that's the same reason he has so many issues with controlling his blood sugar, because it makes for a better story than if he was a completely stable diabetic. I know it's probably not 100% medically accurate, but, ah well, it's fiction.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, nice short one to start us off. Chapter 2 will be out in the following days. Please let me know what you think, I hope someone is still interested in this Verse!  
> Rose xx

 

"Okay. Thank you for letting me know." Steve ended the call, phone slipping to the ground. Stay calm. He could do that much. He'd had the bad news delivered too many times, delivered it himself more than once. Stay calm. He knew how, had been through the highest pressure of situations without so much as a tremor in his trigger finger. Calm.

It was the hottest day of the year so far, but Steve was cold, so, so cold. His legs were shaking as he walked downstairs. Calm, he needed to be calm. And he was. He was calm as he tied up his shoes, calm as he stood. He was even calm as he put his fist through the drywall. Calm. That's something he could be. Even when he'd just gotten a call telling him that his sister is dead.

Steve was out the door running within five minutes of the call. Each thud of his feet on the pavement drowned out the ringing in his ears. Mary was dead. A drunk driver through a red light, DOA. It could have happened to anyone.

But it didn't, a voice in his head chimed. It happened to his sister, someone he swore to protect. Someone he failed. He didn't feel the heat of the day, the sweat rolling down his face, the ache in his legs. All he felt was a pain in his heart that refused to go away. If Mary had been living on the Island, she never would have been on the road she died on. If Steve had called her, maybe she would have been at home that night, talking to him, very much alive. Steve had failed, plain and simple. And now his sister was dead.

On a normal day, he would run maybe ten kilometres, depending on how he was feeling. But he wasn't stupid, logical enough to go in the early mornings before the Hawaiian heat was at its most lethal and if he was running longer he'd double back for something to get his blood sugar up before going on. But he was anything but clear headed. He'd already passed the turnaround point for his twenty-kilometre loop, and was fast approaching twelve kilometres from his house. His skin felt tight on his face and sweat ran down in continuous streams, as if was raining.  
Mary.  
He missed her. He never used to, not when she was alive. But no matter how far away they were physically, he knew she was on the other end of the phone. Now, all he'd get was voicemail. It was a painful substitution for the real thing.

The McGarrett siblings had never really gotten on. They bickered when they were children and had lived on opposite sides of the country since they were teens. But it was reassuring having someone, someone you could count on to be there no matter what had happened between you. It was lonely without them. He turned, feet crunching along the gravel, headed up the narrow mountain road. Lost in grief, he didn't hear the hum of a 4x4 coming from the distance.

* * *

Danny had dropped Grace off early that morning. They'd spent the Friday and Saturday together, but Step-Stan had planned a trip to the mainland and Grace was, apparently, going with him and Rachel. By the time he got home, it was well int Sunday morning so he was surprised when there was no breakfast dishes in the sink or notes from Steve saying he was of somewhere. He checked his phone; nothing there either. A smile spread across his face. It was a Sunday and Steve was surely still in bed. The smile grew wider and he made his way upstairs and into their room. It quickly faded when there was no one in the bed and by the time Danny had confirmed the bathroom d laundry were equally empty, worry was settling deep into his gut. His pulled his phone out again, making sure there was no messages he'd managed to miss. There wasn't. He scrolled to Steve's contact, called, waited until it went to voicemail. Left a message, tried again. He was starting to get more than worried. He walked through the house, called for the other man. It was then, as he walked back past the front door he saw the hole in the wall. He passed over Steve's contact and went to Chin's instead, and hit call.

* * *

Each step was taking more effort and the road was getting narrower. He turned around the bend and suddenly, there was noise and force and he was spilling off the side of the road, rolling down the incline. He tried to brace for the impact but his head was foggy it was all he could do to tuck his chin and follow the motion of his fall. He crashed between trees and rocks, jolted over a log and and rolled to a stop, exhaled. The breath left him, and as if his consciousness was a candle, that small breath extinguished it.

* * *

"Yeah Chin. I left this morning and he was still asleep but we were up pretty late so Grace and I agreed not to wake him. We had breakfast in town because she's going away and I dropped her off. But when I got back, he wasn't there."  
"Chill Brah. I'm sure he's at the beach or something. Maybe he went for a run?"  
"No. There's no dishes so he hasn't eaten much, if anything and we agreed that if he was going out by himself, he'd let me know where and when he'd left so I don't worry myself sick. But there's no note and he hasn't texted and I found his phone on the floor in the bedroom, and there's a hole by the door so newsflash, I'm worrying."  
Danny heard the older man's breathing shift. "Alright. Stay calm or me. I'll call Kono and we'll be right over."  
Danny looked around the hall, eyes roaming from the door to floor, to the hole in the wall to a room that showed no other signs of a struggle. Either someone had taken Steve and they'd been skilled enough to do so without him fighting back very much; or he'd left by himself, without eating or telling Danny where he'd gone, and still wasn't back. Either way it didn't look good. He took a deep breath, finger over the hang-up button on his screen.  
"Hurry up. There's something wrong. I know there is."

* * *

Up the mountain, a man stepped out of his land rover. The grinding of gravel under heavy boots signalled his approach to the side of the track not a minute before Steve McGarrett had gone over. He gazed over the side of the incline, seeing, far below a body, not moving, blood pooling from various places, an arm out of place. He pulled out his phone, but his fingers did not go to call an ambulance. They hit speed dial.  
"Boss? It's done. Both McGarrett's have been taken care of."

* * *

 


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone,   
> Thanks for the awesome response to chapter 1! So glad to be back and writing in this universe, scracth that, so glad to e back with a fic! Hope you like this one too, let me know what you think!   
> Rose xx

When Steve came to, the fist thing he noticed was the sweat pooling in the crevices by his eyes, stinging the as soon as he cracked the lids. The second was that the ground beneath him was most certainly not his bed. It came back in a rush, being hit by the land cruiser, having gone for a run; the phone-call. Suddenly, the moisture in his eyes wasn’t simply caused by sweat.

He took a deep breath, cataloguing the pains in his chest and arm, the blurring of his vision. Grief could wait. He took stock. He was at the bottom of the hill. Hill wasn’t the right word, but his fuzzy brain couldn’t produce the right one. His tongue felt thick in his mouth, and as he tried to probe his head for lumps, his fingers wouldn’t uncurl properly. He was low, that much he figured. He felt around the pockets of his shorts for his metre, not finding it. He reached for the zip that usually revealed a few gummy candies or similar, and with growing dread, realised there was none there. With a groan, he sat up; he was in trouble and it was only going to get worse. One foot at a time, he hauled himself up, hand braced on the log he’d woken pushed up against. He looked up the hill. Phone, he needed his phone. He felt around his pockets, but as with his previous searches, found nothing. His thoughts moved like feathers through mud, slow and getting caught every which-way. He needed to get to the top.  
“C’mon McGarrett. Get a move on.” He grunted out the words. “One step at a time.” He moved forward.

* * *

 

By the time Chin and Kono arrived nearly a half hour after he’d hung up, Danny was pulsing with frantic energy. The doorbell rang, an unnecessary politeness Danny thought angrily, given the situation. An impatient arm wrenched the door open.

“I’ve canvassed the whole house. There’s no sign of a struggle except the hole,” he indicated the damaged plaster in the entranceway, “His boots are still here but I don’t think his sneakers are. But his kit is here and there isn’t any note so I’m kinda struggling to figure out what’s going on!”   
What had started as a methodical statement of facts had quickly descended into borderline-hysterical ramblings.  
Kono opened her mouth, but before any sound could come out, there was a shrill ring. Danny’s head shot around to the kitchen counter, upon which he’d earlier placed Steve’s cell. Danny reached for it, but Chin’s hand on his arm stopped the motion.

“Hold on a sec.” Chin pulled his phone out, and hit record. “Go.”  
Danny resumed his arc, picking up the phone, turning to speaker, then answering.  
“Hello?”  
“Mr McGarrett?” A puzzled young voice answered Danny, not the disguised gravel of a ransom-asking kidnapper.  
“No, he’s not here. Who is this.”  
The young girl on the other end of the line seemed flustered, even though Danny couldn’t see her.  
“My name is Claire Richards, I’m an intern at the Good Samaritan ER. We were just calling to confirm with Mr McGarrett when he would be in to perform his next-of-kin post-mortem duties for his sister?”  
it took Danny what may have been seconds or minutes to process.   
In the end, he settled on, “Huh?”  
Chin took the phone. “Miss Richards, I’m detective Kelly, I work with Commander McGarrett. He’s currently missing, did you say his sister is dead?”  
“Yes Detective, I’m sorry it’s only my second day. I was told to call Mr McGarrett because he needs to come in and confirm that the body we have here identified as Mary McGarrett is actually her, and then make arrangements for it, and Mr McGarrett said he would call us later but it’s been a few hours and these things are time sensitive so…”  
“I understand. About what time would you say you called Steve the first time?”  
“Um, maybe nine am your time?”  
“Alright, thank you. I’ll arrange for him to call you back as soon as I can.”  
“Thank-you, Detective.”  
“No problem. Thank you for your time.”  
As the dial tone sounded, the three looked at each other. Kono was the first to speak.   
“Well, this isn’t good.”  
Danny took Steve’s phone back from Chin, pocketed it. “No, it certainly is not.”

* * *

 

By the time Steve made it to the top of the incline, his vision was swimming and his arm was throbbing with each successive beat of his heart. He blinked several times, tried to clear the blur across his eyes. He looked up the hill, then down. Down meant to town, it meant cars. It meant help. He turned down the hill, took a stumbling step forward. The motion sent a thud through his chest, upsetting his already sore ribs. The further he got down, the worse he felt. He was cold and hot all at the same time, mouth cotton dry while sweat poured down his face.

What felt like hours later, still no cars had passed, but he’d arrived at the edge of town. He stumbled along the esplanade, seeing cars and people pass but was unable to summon energy to do anything other than continue along, unable to voice his need for help. In some far away part of his brain, he thought about how he must appear to the onlookers; Sunday morning- a thirty-something man stumbling along, looking rumpled and unsteady. Drunk, that’s how he must have looked. He stumbled on, the scenery flashing in and out before him. His steps came to a shaky stop. The sweating had long since stopped, mixture of too little to drink and a day too hot. He watched hazily as passer-by’s wandered, hear the distant sound of waves crashing and found himself quite suddenly on his knees. Sound blurred as much as his vision, but through the haze, he heard a sound.  
“Sir? Sir are you okay?”  
He looked vaguely in the direction he thought the sound may have come from, but the motion of his head moving proved too much and he was no longer on his knees but his side, the esplanade suddenly tilted.   
People had stopped now, a man stumbling and a man on the ground were two decidedly things. A hand pulled his head around until he was staring directly into someone else’s face.  
“Sir, I need you to tell me what’s wrong. An ambulance has been called. Have you been drinking?”  
“Nooooooooo.” He groaned, trying to roll away from the hand.   
“Sir, I need you to stay still. What’s wrong, are you hurt?”  
“Go ‘way.”  
The hands were back, more than the single pair that had been there the first time.   
“Sir, calm down, we’re trying to help you.”  
He threw his arms up, trying to fight off the hands atop him, confusion settling like a heavy fog.  
“There, under his shirt!”  
hands were reaching for his chest and someone had his dog age, someone was taking them. He fought harder, but was granted only with more arms pinning him to the ground.  
“Sir, we are trying to help you but we need you to stay still.”  
Another voice, behind the first.  
“His name is Steven McGarrett, holy shit he’s a diabetic!”  
“Alright Steven, the ambulance will be here soon.”  
More voices joined the clamour.  
“My nice is diabetic!”  
“What do we do?”  
“Check his temperature”  
Hands on his face, his neck. “He’s hot.”  
“Is he sweating?”  
“No.”  
He’s probably having a sugar high.”  
He moaned, head thrashing because no, that was not what was happened. He was hot because it was July and he’d been running and he wasn’t sweating because he hadn’t had any water in hours and it was July and _he had been running_.  
“Stay still there for us Steven, the ambulance is nearly here; can you hear the sirens?”  
And yeah, now that the voice had mentioned it he could, and not seconds later there was the thud of heavy doors and new hands were only his face, peeling open his eyelids despite the fact he couldn’t remember closing them.

The first voice was back. “We found his dog tags. His name is Steven McGarrett, he’s a diabetic. We think he’s got high blood sugar.”  
A new voice. “Alright thank you. High blood sugar you said?”  
“Yeah, someone said that, something about him being really hot but not sweating?”  
“Yep, that makes sense.” New voice again, the one annoyingly feeling over his body.  “Joe, get insulin ready.” The only part of Steve’s mind that was still operating registered that that would be. He tried to get his thick-feeling lips to move.   
“Noooo.”   
“Steven, we are just going to do a blood sugar reading before we give you some insulin. That should have you feeling a lot better, then we can get you to the hospital and have your injuries looked at.   
“Nooooo.” He tried again, attempted to roll away.  
“Liz, hurry and check his blood sugar. Something isn’t right.”  
“Joe, he’s probably just confused.” As the woman, Liz, it seemed, spoke, he felt a prick at his finger.  
Things faded out for a second, but then the voice was back.  
“Holy shit, he’s at 2.9!”  
The male voice responded. “That’s what I was worried about. It’s likely he’s got heat stroke which is masking the symptoms of the hypo. I’ll get some glucose.”  
Finally, Steve allowed himself to relax. He sunk into the concrete, felt a dull pain in his thigh.  
“That’s it, Steven. Just relax. We’ll get you to the hospital and all sorted out.”  
The throbbing in his head and chest and arm and everywhere in between returned with vengeance and despite his eyes still being closed, Steve was spinning. He managed to manoeuvre his thick lips once more.  
“C’ll D’nno.”  
He slipped away.

* * *

 

Danny started the Camaro, Chin settled behind him with Kono behind. He reached for the hand-break, but for the second time that day, was stopped by the ringing of his phone. The number was unfamiliar.  
“Detective Williams.”  
“Detective this is Dr Harlem, I’m at Queens. We have a Steven McGarrett that has been brought in, we have you listed as-”  
He cut the Doctor off. “You have Steve?”  
“Yes Detective, we have Steve.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve may have been found, but he's not out of the woods yet!  
> Hope you liked it, let me know what you thought.   
> Rose xx


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! thanks again for the amazing response to the first chapter, there truly is nothing better than seeing your inbox full of reviews! Hope you guys like this, after ll, it's basiacally 2K worth of Steve whump :). Please tell me what you think!  
> Rose xx

Danny raced through the halls of Queens Medical Centre, heading for the unfortunately-familiar emergency bay. He skidded to a stop at the desk, Chin and Kono pulling up behind him.   
“Steven McGarrett.” He barked at the nurse behind the desk, who looked up, startled.   
“I’m sorry?”  
Danny took a breath, forced an even tone. “Steven McGarrett. He was brought in about an hour ago. Where is he?”   
“Just a moment, Sir.”  
Keys clicked, and the nurse’s brow furrowed. “Do you have identification, Sir? There’s a note on his file that says I’m only to page the Doctor for a Detective Williams.”  
Danny held back a frustrated growl, slapped his badge onto the desk in front of him.  
“Thank you Detective.” She lent away, pushed a button and held the phone to her mouth. “Doctor Finch to the ER please, that’s Doctor Finch to the ER.”  
Danny allowed himself to be led off to the side, and once again, waited.

* * *

Dr Finch had a long and prestigious career at Queens Medical Centre. As such, it wasn’t a surprise when Steve McGarrett was rushed in, Finch was familiar with the young man. He’d been there for the debacle the year before, when McGarrett had been pulled from a mountain-top, with blood sugar so low it would have killed most people. But, more often, he’d been there when Steve was brought in, vocally refusing treatment. But the man who’d been wheeled in looked nothing like to combative man he was used to.

Steve lay atop the gurney, skin ashen under a thick layer of sunburn. His eyes were closed, breath laboured underneath an oxygen mask. Various lines were already in, entangled around a misshapen arm. The young man looked, to be frank, awful. The closer Finch got the more he could see; blood that had coagulated down the side of his face, bruises that had already coloured across his chest, which was bare apart from scraps of a shirt that was likely cut away for the ECG monitor- the ECG monitor which showed he was bradycardic. The gurney was parked in the bay and Finch stepped towards it, all business.

“What’ve we got?”  
“Commander McGarrett was found stumbling through town where he then collapsed. Bystanders reported he was confused to the point of incoherence and hot but not sweaty. Preliminary diagnosis was hyperglycaemia but the blood test showed he was actually hypoglycaemic. We believe he’s suffering from acute heatstroke in addition to that.  We administered 25g of Glucose at the scene and now have him on a saline drip as well, he’s coming back up with his sugars but you’ll need to quickly work on getting a glucose line established. He appears to have suffered a fall of some kind, impact centred on the right-hand side of his body. Right arm has what we believe is a compound fracture. We think he’s broken the third, fourth and fifth rib on that side, possibly with some on the other side fractured. There’s a possible sternum fracture. Blunt force trauma across the upper temporal bone and lower parietal bone on the right-hand side; skin’s been broken but we have the bleeding under control. Pupils are equal but slow to react. He very briefly came-to after we gave him the glucose but was pretty dazed so we were unable to obtain any neural obs. Lots of superficial bruising and there looks to be some ligament damage to his left ankle. Apart from that, there doesn’t seem to be any internal injuries; no rigidity of the torso and he hasn’t brought up any blood.”

“Alright that sounds about right.” As the medic had been talking, Finch had been performing his own preliminary exam, and he’d come to many of the same conclusions. “First priority is stabilising his blood sugar. Then we need to tackle the heat stroke and head injury. We also need to stabilise his ribs before we go about to much more prodding, there’s no internal injuries by the looks of it at this stage, but that's not to say there won’t be any later on if we aren’t careful with those ribs.”  
He turned to the nurse at his left. “I want you to establish a glucose line, monitor his sugar levels and keep the flow on pace. Once he’s stabilised, we’ll start an inulin line, but first I want him on glucose, bring his levels right back up.” He went to the IV saline, making sure the line was fully open before moving to felt over the head wound. “Alright, time to take care of this.”

* * *

 

Danny paced up and down the corridor, waiting less than patiently for the Doctor to meet him. Worry gnawed in his gut; more than anything, he needed to lay eyes on Steve.  

It seemed his need was about to be fulfilled, as a familiar looking man walked down the corridor. He stepped forward, had outstretched   
“Doctor Finch, right? Good to see you again.”  
The middle-aged Doctor offered a tight smile, returning the hand shake firmly.   
“Detective Williams, correct?” Danny nodded. “Good to see you again, despite the circumstances. Come with me, I’ll take you to Steve’s room.” He started down the hall, Danny, Chin and Kono in tow. “Before I say anything else, he’s going to be fine. We’ll probably keep him overnight and maybe tomorrow, depending on how he’s looking.”  
Danny felt the weight on his shoulders lift marginally. “Do you know what happened?  
“We aren’t entirely sure. We assume a fall of some kind, but he also had severe heat stroke and was his blood sugar was incredibly low.”  
Danny took a second. “I understand the heat stroke and the blood sugar, he got some pretty bad new this morning so we think he went for a run without thinking too much. But a fall? If he passed out and fell, surely, he wouldn’t have woken up again to get into town?”  
“That’s what we wondered as well, in fact, we were hoping maybe you knew something about the fall.”  
“No, sorry.”  
“Never-mind or now, we’ll just need to wait until Steve wakes up and ask him. apart from that, he's got what we believe to eb just a mild concussion, broke arm and strained lower tib-fib ligaments. Some broken ribs and a cracked sternum. He's pretty banged up, but it's not dangerous at this stage.” The doctor paused in-front of a private room, a perk Danny had gotten used to since joining the Governor’s own private task force.   
“He’s just in there. We expect he’ll be waking up in the next hour or so. Just give us a buzz when he does. His preliminary scans came back clear but when he’s up we’ll need to revisit a few things.”  
“Thanks.” Danny pushed the door open, and walked inside.

* * *

 

Steve looked about as good as Danny had expected. He was pale-faced, bar a bruise that was creeping out from his hairline, and multiple bags hung from his IV pole. He was bare-chested with only a thin sheet over his lower half, showing off impressively coloured bruises and a various cuts and scrapes that splayed across most of his torso. But, as Danny sat next to him, he was relieved to see that even if Steve’s breath was short and sharp, it was regular. His heartrate was steady, and as he held the hand of the arm not in plaster, he noticed that Steve’s fingers hadn’t curled up tight, as they tended to when he was particularly low.

Chin and Kono settled in chairs placed around the room. The three of them settled in to wait.

* * *

As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait long. Not a full hour later, Danny noticed that Steve’s breathing changed, from short, sharp and regular to pained, stuttering gasps. Danny looked up from where he’d glued his eyes to Steve’s hand and noticed that his previously smoothed brow as furrowed.   
“Steve, babe, you with me?”  
A pink flash of tongue shot out along Steve’s Iips, a motion that, any other time, would have Danny in puddles.  
“Come on babe, open your eyes for me.” He squeezed Steve’s hand, noting with glee that there was a slight pressure in return. “That’s it, babe, wake up, you can do it.” He saw Chin cross the room towards the door and slip out to find a nurse, and focused back on Steve as his eyes fluttered open.  
“Hey there bae. You’re okay. You’re in the hospital, but everything’s going to be okay.”

It was at that moment Doctor Finch walked in, a petite nurse in tow.   
Finch approached the bed, pulling out a penlight. “Hello Commander, I’m sure you’re a bit confused but that’s alright. You were brought in after collapsing in town. You had low blood sugar, heat stroke and a few other injuries, but you’re going to be okay.”  
Steve croaked out something unintelligible, and Danny was quick to move in with a spoonful of ice chips.   
“Car.”  
“Car?”  
Steve looked frustrated, eyebrows furrowed. “Car, ran me off the road.” He began coughing.  
“Alright Mr McGarrett, we’ll get to that in a minute. For now, can you tell me what month and year it is?”  
“S’ July, 2012.”  
“Very good. The president?”  
“Obama.”  
“Good, good. Lastly, can you tell me who is in the room with us?”  
Danny watched as Steve scanned the room. “Chin ‘n Kono.” He looked towards Danny, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Tha’s Danno.”   
Danny couldn’t help but chuckle, and answered before the doctor could, squeezing Steve’s hand. “That’s right babe. Danno’s here with you.”  
“M' tired.” Steve wheezed out.   
“That’s to be expected, Commander.” Finch flicked the pen-light in and out of each of Steve’s eyes, apologised at the muffled groan that escaped his patient. “Well, you’re concussion seems mild and your pupils are reacting mostly normally now. We’re going to take you down for a few more scans. Can you tell me if anything is particularly painful?”  
“Nothin’. Jus’ tired.” His eyes were slipping closed and Danny watched the man in front of him, and realised just how lucky he was to love someone so very much.  
Finch gestured at the nurse, then turned back to Danny. “We’re just going to take him down for a bit. He’ll be back in a few hours.” He turned to Steve. “You can sleep if you like, Commander.”  
It seemed all the assurance Steve needed, because seconds later, as the bed was wheeled out of the room, his breathing had settled back into sleep.

The room was suddenly empty bar the conscious members of Five-0. Danny turned to Chin and Kono, all gentleness gone.   
“He said someone ran him off the road. Someone did this to him.”  
Chin nodded. “Yeah. And given what happened to Mary, I’m beginning to wonder…”  
Kono and Danny nodded at the unspoken statement.   
“I’m going to head into the Palace, see what I can find. Kono, come with me.” Chin went to Danny, pulled him in a tight embrace. “Keep us updated Brah.”  Danny nodded, then placed his arms around Kono as she followed her cousin’s lead.   
“Will do. You tell me when you’ve found the bastard. I want first dibs.”

* * *

 

That night, when Steve was wheeled settled back in his room, he turned to Danny, eyes dull with drugs and sadness.  
“Danno, my sister died today.”  
Danny watched as tears began falling oh-so slowly from the usually stoic man’s face. He leant forward, brushing his hand across Steve’s forehead, thumbed the tears away. “Oh, babe.”  
Steve began shaking, tears coming faster. “What did I do wrong Danno? Why is everyone taken away?”  
Danny exhaled, not quite sure what to say. He settled for resting one palm on Steve’s head, used the other one to grip his hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong babe. And me and Gracie, Chin and Kono, we’re going to be with you forever. We aren’t going anywhere.”  
Steve let out a shuddering breath, and slowly fell asleep. Danny didn’t move, and he wouldn’t for the rest of the night.

* * *

On the other side of the island, a phone rang.   
“Hello?”  
“Commander McGarrett is still alive. You will finish the job, or you will regret it.”  
The dial tone sounded.   
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun Dun Dunnnnnnn. What do you think's coming next? Let me Know!  
> Thanks for coming out,   
> Rose xx


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologise this is so late and so short. I lost motivation with this story, but I'm hoping I've again found it. I hope you like this, and hopefully the next chapter will be much faster.  
> On another note, I would just like to say that this is an AU. Steve is allowed in the military with diabetes in this universe. Just so that clears a a few things up.   
> I hope you like it, let me know what you're thinking.

 

Steve woke the next morning with an ache in his body that he barely felt past the emptiness that had settled there. He blinked his eyes open against the harsh lighting of the hospital room, and between one blink and the next, Danny appeared in his line of site.   
“How’re you feeling babe?”  
“Tired.”   
“I know babe.” As Danny answered, there was a shrill ring. “Shit, I need to take this babe. I can’t do it in here, give me a sec.”  
As Danny left, Steve realised that he was alone. Danny had been the only one in the room. Chin and Kono hadn’t been in the room.  
He was left to ponder for only a moment before Danny was back.  
“Where’s everyone else Danny?”   
“They’re at the Palace.” He paused; brow furrowed. “Steve, babe, I need to tell you something.” He ran a hand down the back of his own, head, a motion Steve had seen a thousand times in moments of stress.  
“What’s going on Danny?”  
“Steve, there were a few too many coincidences with your accident yesterday and well, we looked into a few things and we contacted LAPD. Steve, Mary wasn’t killed by a drunk driver. Whoever called you and then us had the wrong file. She was hit while she was running by a large American-made SUV, all black. The driver had his face covered in all footage, hat and sunglasses.

And then, when you were brought in, you said you were run off the road. And we thought you’d been running so we checked the CCTV on the routes you take around the area you were found. There was an American-made SUV, black, driver covered in several of the shots. The car was the same make as the one that hit Mary.”  
“Danny, are you saying…”  
“We think you and Mary were targeted.”

A million thoughts entered Steve’s head, but none past through the haze of grief that had settled. So, instead of replying, he lay back down, faced the wall as best he could without pulling on his ribs. He closed his eyes.

* * *

 

An hour later, Steve woke, head clearer. He turned his head, neck stiff, until he faced Danny.  
Danny smiled softly and leant. “You feeling any better now you’re up?”  
“When can I get out’ve here Danny?”   
Danny ran a hand across his forehead and brushed away the hair that had just gotten long enough to fall there. “Soon as the Doctor is here babe. I spoke to the nurses earlier and I can take you home as soon as Doc’s cleared it.”  
“We aren’t going home.”   
“What?”  
“I said, we aren’t going home.”  
“Babe, you need to rest after this.”  
“No, I need to find out what happened to my sister.”

* * *

Two hours later, against Danny’s wishes, Steve limped into the Palace, arm in a sling, ribs and foot bound tight and a headache he’d neglected to tell Danny about. He came to a stop at the able, rested against it.   
“Chin, Kono.” He nodded at them. “What do we know?”  
Chin hit a few keys until various CCTV images came up on the table. “We isolated the plates of both the cars. The car that hit Mary was registered to a Mr James Breakwell. He died several years ago of natural causes. We haven’t been able to track down a next of kin for him but we’re working on it. The driver had a baseball cap on in all the footage, but a witness said he was sure the man had been redheaded. The car that hit you was reported stolen several days ago, it’s owner runs a Private investigation business. Obviously, there were no witnesses in your case, but we’re trying to track down the car now.”  
“Alright. Chin, Kono, I want you two heading to LA ad working with the police there. Find out what happened and, and,” he paused, took a breath. “And I’ve authorised you to identify Mary and bring her back here Chin. Is that okay?”  
The cousins nodded, and Chin gently clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll bring her home brah.”  
Steve nodded. “Danny, we need to head back to where I was run off the road. I think I remember where it was. Afterwards we’ll go and speak to the PI.  
“Let’s go.”

* * *

Steve climbed out of the Camaro, for once not having driven. “I was here, I think.” Danny nodded, noting the tire track that skidded to a stop just near the edge. Something colourful caught his eye, and he knelt down, picking it up. He held the wrapper up, noticing the right colours, showed it to Steve.   
“I guess our guy was hungry.”  
Steve nodded. “I guess so. I think we owe Kamekona a visit.  
  
The Camaro pulled up at its new location, and Danny rushed around to Steve’s side, helped ease him out. They made their way over to the food stand.  
“Yo, ma favourite bro couple. What’s goin’ on? I heard you was hurt McGarrett.”  
“Actually, Kamekona, that’ why we’re here. Did you have a man here yesterday, large, red hair?”  
It’s funny you ask, I did brah. And I noticed him cause, like, he wasn’t one of the regulars but he wasn’t all touristy either so I was like ‘hey, whatcha doin’ man, you new here?' and he was all like ‘I just want some shrimp’ and he was all gloomy and weird like one of them teenagers and-”  
“Kamekona, can you describe him to a sketch artist?”  
“Yeah brah, what’d he do?”  
Danny looked to Steve, saw the pain beneath the surface of his eyes and grabbed his hand. He looked back to Kamekona.  
“We think he killed Steve’s sister.”

* * *

Danny and Steve arrived at an office marked “Lawner’s private Investigators, several hours later (after a long sting with Kamekona and the sketch artist) .” The building was gleaming, in stark contrast to the shabby surrounds. Danny stepped from the car, turned to shut the door. But as he did so, a blinding pain shot across his temple, and he knew no more.

* * *

Danny awoke, a pain in his head and shoulders. He slowly blinked letting the dull light filter I past scummy eyes and throbbing pain. He groaned, and looked up. His breath caught. He was in what he could only assume was a basement, hands shackled to a pipe. But what bothered him most was Steve, right next to him, blood dripping from a newly opened wound on the side of his head.   
“Steve.”  
Danny jangled his hands uselessly against the shackles. Steve didn’t stir. He kicked his foot out, the tip of his shoe just nudging Steve’s leg. There was still no response.  
“Steve!” Nothing. Danny too stock of the room, the lack of windows, the heavy door with no visible handle or hinges. He let his head fall against the wall, and, as his partner took shallow breaths next to him and his head pounded, for the first time in many years, he prayed.

* * *

“Boss. I got them. They’re chained in the basement of the place next to the PI’s office. I took McGarrett’s insulin. He’ll be dead before anyone finds him, and there’s no weapon so it can’t be traced back to us. They’ll assume it was the PI and we’ll be off the hook.”  
“You idiot, why didn’t you just kill him and be done with it?”  
“This will be a slow death. Much better than what we’d planned. He’ll pay, properly, unlike his bitch sister.”  
“You’d better hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, once more we've got whump! Hope that's your cup of tea cause it is mine:) Please let me know what you think!  
> (By the way, I know no good assassin would leave a target alive but restrained when they could just kill them, but this way is more fun for me:) )


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Friends:)  
> Thanks for sticking with me.   
> Just letting you know, this chapter is not 100% medically accurate and does take a few little liberites with time. For those that get confused, the timeline is in the end-notes. Please let e know what you think!  
> -Rose xx

Once more, Chin received voicemail.   
_“You've reached the_ _voicemail_ _of Detective_ _Steve McGarrett_ _. Please leave a message after the beep.”_  
He suppressed a growl. “Still can’t get through, how’d you go with Danny?”  
“Same. Must be in a dead spot.”  
“Guess so.” Chin turned to Detective Johnson of the LAPD. It was approaching 5-pm local time and their bodies felt it was at least 8, but there was work to do.  
“So you said you made a positive ID on the driver?”  
“We believe so. Our analyst ran the sketch from our witness and yours in Hawaii through VICAP and both witnesses made positive IDs. His name is Mason Murdoch. Not much on him. He was born in Hawaii and moved to LA about a year ago. Never had a credit card, no permanent address here; the rent on the place he got when he moved here wasn’t paid the last few months, it’s back listed for lease.”  
“Does he have a record?”  
“Not that we could find, but his brother does, and he still lives in LA.”  
Chin turned to Kono. “I think we need to pay him a visit.”

* * *

 

Kono banged on the door, fist humping loudly in the deserted hall of Joshua Murdoc’s apartment building.   
A well put together man answered the door, and both members of the five-o task-force took a step back.  
“Can I help you?”  
Chin stepped forward. “Are you Joshua Murdoc?”  
“The one and only. At least, in this apartment block.”   
Chin took another step, inviting himself in. “We need to talk.”  
  
The apartment was, altogether, much nicer than what Chin had been expecting. Murdoc led them through to a kitchen, gesturing to the seats around the table.  
“Please, take a seat. Can I get you anything?”  
“We’re right, thanks. We’ll get straight to the point. Do you know the whereabouts of your brother, Mason?”

Murdoc sighed heavily, head dropping where he sat across from the cousins. “I was worried that was what you were here about. Mase came back here, oh, a little over a year ago now, I think. He was pretty cut up about something, not sure what it was though. Got in with a bad crowd, man by the name of Simmons.”  
Something clicked in Chin’s head.  
“You said Mason got here a little over a year ago. That would have been in May?”  
“Yeah, about then.”  
Chin looked to Kono. “Steve was here then, remember? He visited Mary after the whole deal with the hiking accident.”  
Kono nodded, and the older man turned back to Murdoc. “Would you happen to know the current whereabouts of your brother?”  
“No, sorry, he took off a few days ago. He’d been staying with me a little while, but he came back to the apartment the other day looking shaken up and then he was in the wind. Haven’t seen him since, sorry to say.”  
Chin stood up, prompting Kono to do the same. The pair shook hands with Murdoc.  
“Thanks for your time.”

In a borrowed Police cruiser, after stopping at their hotel, Kono and Chin sped towards the airport.   
“Chin,” Kono gripped the door. “Slow down, what are we doing?”  
“I’ve called back to the governor, we have a private plane ready to go.  We’ll be back there by 5-am their time.”  
“Why Chin, I thought we were meant to be scouting around here.”  
“We’ve done all we can here. I think Murdoc Junior is back on the Island. Steve and Mary must have seen or done something while they were here that was enough to get them killed. He got Mary and then headed to Hawaii to finish the other half off. But he failed. So surely, he’s gone after Steve again…” Chin trailed off, and Kono finished the grim sentence.   
“And we haven’t been able to contact them for hours”  
Chin sped up, and Kono simply held on.

* * *

Danny woke, at first not sure when or where he’d fallen asleep. As he blinked his eyes open, he caught flashes of rusted pipes and concrete walls and it all came flooding back. With a groan, he turned his head. Steve was still out, head hanging limply against his chest. He kicked his foot out, again hitting his partner.  
“Steve!” His call was desperate, but unlike the previous time, he got a result.  
  
The brunette groaned lowly, and Danny saw his partner’s eyes flutter.  
“Come on babe. Wake up.”  
Another groan.   
Then, “Danno?”   
It was croaky and pained but it was the best sound Danny had heard all day.

“Yeah babe, you awake?”  
“Wh’re we Danno?”  
“I don’t know, Steve. How are you feeling?”  
“M’low Danno.”

Danny cursed; he’d hoped their captors had some grand plan and it seemed they did, but not what he was hoping. They planned to kill them, Steve at least. And they had an easy way to do it  
“Steve, I need to know if you can get out of your cuffs.”  
There was no answer and for a second Danny was scared Steve had passed out again, but then he heard a sickening pop and Steve was mumbling “Yeah Danno, I can get out’ve em.” And a second later he was in front of Danny, fiddling with the blonde’s own cuffs and within minutes, he was free.

Danny scrambled forward until he was face-to-face with Steve, trying to avoid looking at the deformed thumbs on both his hands. He put a hand on Steve’s cheek, raising his head until they were eye-to-eye.   
“Steve. How are you feeling?”  
“Sore D’nno. Pretty sure there’s no way outta here.”   
“Yeah babe, me too. How low are you?”  
Steve slumped and Danny was quick to catch him, turning them until they rested against the wall, Steve against Danny. The taller man’s eyes were rolling, his face pale and sweaty.   
“C’mon babe. I was out for a while, I’m sure someone’s looking for us by now. You’ve just gotta stay with me here.”  
“Feelin’ sick.”  
Danny ran a hand through Steve’s short hair, noticing it was damper than normal, sweat coating it.   
“I know babe.”  
They settled into silence. Steve breathing shakily and Danny with his hand through sweaty hair. Now that his arms weren’t suspended and he wasn’t in too much pain and Steve was at least partially awake, he took more notice of the room. It only served to further his previous evaluation. The door was definitely a bust, the floor bare of anything of use. There was a single light, flickering grimly from the ceiling, but that ceiling was high, out of reach even if he were to sit upon Steve’s shoulders. And that certainly wasn’t happening any time soon. He sighed. They’d been in many-a sticky situation, and sometimes he knew, you just had to sit tight and trust your team.

* * *

  
He noticed as Steve became heavier against him and glanced down at his watch, surprised in some distant corner of his mind that whoever their captors were had left him with it. It was getting closer to 7 pm. That meant Steve hadn’t eaten in nearly five hours. He patted down Steve’s pockets, not feeling hopeful. It seemed that whenever his kit had been taken, so had his glucose tablets and spare snacks. But, as his hands hit the bottom-most crevice of Steve’s pocket, he struck gold, and pulled an unwrapped, if slightly grimy, glucose tablet. It must have fallen out last time Steve had taken one, and he silently celebrated as he patted a hand gently on Steve’s cheek. There was no response.  
“Steve!” He moved so Steve was slumped, leaning against the wall instead of him, and crouched in-front of him, Steve’s face was ashen, his breathe slightly rapid. He hit Steve o the cheek again, harder, but there was still no response.

Knowing Steve wouldn’t be coming around any time soon, Danny placed the tablet on his index finger, letting the ring-shaped imitation candy rest there, and with his other hand, pried open Steve’s mouth. He reached in gently began rubbing the tablet against the inside of Steve’s cheek. He remembered, very distantly, the words of one of his multiple first-aid instructors.  
“If the patient is unconscious, you can apply he sugar buccally, use something long that doesn’t pose a choking hazard and gently rub it against the side of their cheek. It will be absorbed through the tissue around the mouth and directly enter the blood stream. Just don’t use your fingers, you risk losing them.”  
Danny huffed, re-angling his finger so the steadily dissolving lozenge was pressed more firmly against Steve’s cheek. He didn’t care about losing fingers when the other option was losing Steve.  
  
It took nearly two minutes before the tablet was nearly dissolved and Steve began stirring. As soon as he noticed movement in Steve’s previously lax mouth, he took out the remaining fragment of tablet, rested it on his knee and wiped off his slimy fingers.   
“Steve, come on babe open your eyes again.”  
Steve groaned, long and low, but it was a beautiful sound to Danny’s ears.  
“There you go babe, open up.”  
Danny watched as the brunette smacked his lips, tongue undoubtedly fuzzy. Steve brought a hand up to rub at his eyes, fists loosely curled as they always did when his sugars dropped.   
“Steve,” His voice was more forceful. “Open your eyes.”  
Never one able to disobey an order, once more, Steve’s eyes cracked open.  
“Hey babe, there you go, that’s better.”  
“No’ b’ttr D’nno.”   
“Yeah you are Steve-o, you’re just fine. I need you to chew the rest of this for me,” He slipped the rest of the tablet off his knee into Steve’s mouth, watched as he chewed it through tangible exhaustion.   
“Well done babe, that’s better. That’s gonna tide you over until chin and Kono get here, and you’ll be just fine. But as Danny watched, tear slipped down the usually stoic SEALs face, fatigue evident in the slow, salty drop.   
“Shhh, shh, it’s alright, you’re okay.” Danny gathered Steve in is arms, rocked him back and forth as if he were a child.   
  
It was minutes later when Steve settled; exhausted and low, slowly slipping back into the state he’d been before and Danny, once-more acting as a headboard, pulled him tighter. He checked his watch. 9-pm. Daylight was likely fading outside, as was his hope. Because while a glucose tablet might buy Steve a little time, what he needed was more sugar and some serious complex carbohydrates. Steve sunk deeper into his grasp and if Danny tilted his head, he could see his eyes slipping closed. Sleep, he knew, would come easily to Steve, and he hoped it would preserve precious energy, precious sugar.

* * *

 

Hours later, tear were dry on Danny’s face. It was 6-am, and Steve was close enough to gone. 16 hours without food. Four times as long as the intervals in which his partner was meant to eat. After the glucose tablet, Steve had passed into something that resembled sleep, but as midnight ticked by he had sunk deeper, no longer able to be roused when Danny tried. By 5-am his breathing had shallowed and he was almost ice-cold despite Danny’s grip. Hope was gone, which was why, as his watched beeped to signal the new hour, Danny was surprised to hear banging. There was someone at their door. And at that stage, Danny didn't care whether they were friend or foe.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline:  
> Day 1: Mary Dies  
> Day 2: Steve is attacked  
> Day 3: Steve wakes very early, is discharged in the morning. Team assembles at the palace by 9-am.  
>  Steve and Danny are attacked and imprisoned at around 2pm.   
>  Kono and Chin land in LA at around 6:30pm Hawaii time.   
>  Kono and chin spend a few hours in LA. They fly back to Hawaii and leave around 8:30.   
> Day 4: Kono and Chin land back in Hawaii at about 5am Hawaii time.
> 
> *With the time difference, this time-line is mostly-plausible. But please, ope minds for fiction!  
> Hope you like it, please, oh please, let me know:)  
> Rose xx


	6. 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Peeks from behind wall*  
> This took a long time and it was hard. But I don't want to rush my ending like I feel I have before. So instead of a mega long finale, this is half of the end. The next half will come in a few hours or tomorrow morning (promise this time :) )  
> I hope you guys like this, I'm rather partial to it myself. Please do let me know.  
> Rose xx

Chin and Kono hit the ground running. Their flight had made good time and a police cruiser met them at the runway right as the plane touched down, dot on 4:30, a sandy-haired officer in the driver’s seat. They pulled away from the curb and the trip to the palace took less than twenty minutes.

The governor met them at their table, looking rather well together given the hour. Chin stepped forward.  
“When was the last time you heard from them?”  
“I haven’t, really. McGarrett briefed me before you all left for Los Angeles but I don’t keep tabs on your team that closely, despite what Detective Williams seems to believe.”  
Chin looked to Kono. “That means we lost contact with them somewhere between here and the PI’s office. They would have told us if they’d gone somewhere else.”

Kono’ expression darkened. She had, like he, figured out that it meant at best, the two had disappeared more 15 hours ago. The young woman stepped towards the table, and pulled up the plans for the PI’s office.  
“Let’s assume the PI had something to do with this. See here?” She pointed to a spot off the main building. “It’s got an externally accessed basement in the areas. It’s not big, but it would allow him to go about his business with Steve and Danny dying in the back and no-one any the wiser.”

Chin frowned. It was too easy, and there didn’t seem to be any reason to believe the PI was involved besides the car.

“It’s worth a shot, we need somewhere to start.” He pulled out his radio, called the young officer back to the squad car and instructed him to start it. “We’ll let you know what’s there, governor.”  
The cousins headed back out the door.

When they pulled up at the office site, it wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened, and that Kono was likely right.

The Camaro was parked out the front of the office, ethereal in the morning light. It was innocent enough, unless one notes the unlocked doors and poorly cleaned-up spatters of blood near the driver’s side.  
Chin looked to the officer that had driven them. “Call an ambulance, have them here double time.”  
He pulled his gun, watched as Kono did the same and they made their way to the back of the property.

The door to the basement was bolted shut, but the officer (who’s name was Hann and was much smarter than Chin had given him credit for), had had the forethought to bring bolt cutters from the trunk. Within seconds, the lock had been cut off, and the three descended a ladder to a small room.

Upon entering, Chin was initially disappointed at the empty space, until he noticed the door in the corner. He ran over, hammering on the steel as he realised the door was locked. Kono pushed past him pulling a knife from her pocket.  
“What are you doing?”  
“I’m unscrewing the door from it’s hinges, what do you think I’m doing?”  
And she did just that, until the hinges sat uselessly and a pile of screws rolled away on the floor. Chin tried to move the door, but it was wedged closed. Together, he and Kono began shoving the door, pushing it through the frame until with a crash, they burst through.

* * *

 

The hammering from the door got louder, but Danny didn’t move from his spot. If they were the  
last moments Steve had, Danny was going to make sure he spent them in the arms of someone who love him. With a crash, the door burst open and Danny hung his head, resting it atop Steve’s sweaty mop.  
“Danny!” The voice at the door quickly changed his mind.  
Startled, Danny’s head shot up. “Chin?”  
The cousins spilled through the door; an officer Danny vaguely recognised from the precinct as Mike Hann with them. They had their guns drawn, but a scan of the room and the weapons were holstered. Chin and Kono rushed to Dany’s side, the older man’s hand coming to rest on Steve’s forehead.  
“Danny is-”  
“Yeah, but I’d say even if you call an ambulance now, he- he won’t be when they get here.”  
“We called an ambulance nearly twenty minutes ago Danny, they’ll be here any minute.”  
Hope bubbled in the pit of his stomach and he leaned back down, lips to Steve’s ear.  
“Come on Steve, hold on babe.”

The minutes passed like hours; Chin and Kono hovering while the Hann waited to direct the EMT’s outside. Danny sat on the ground; Steve bracketed between his legs. There’d been no change in his condition but with the promise of imminent help, Danny held onto a small bead of hope. Though it felt like an eternity, it couldn’t have been more than five minutes when a pair of young men burst in, large bags slung across their shoulders, a gurney between them.

The older of the two men, a man resembling Danny’s father, knelt next to them.  
“Can you tell us what has happened?”  
Danny took a breath. “Best I can figure out, we were knocked out about two yesterday afternoon. He’s been in and out since then and I found a glucose tablet I gave him but he’s not had anything since then. He’s a diabetic.”

While Danny spoke, the other medic, a younger ginger haired man took Steve’s blood sugar.  
“.07 Jeffrey he needs glucose now!”  
The older man, Jeffrey, reached into his bag before drawing up a syringe.  
As he did so, the younger man went to work shearing away the leg of Steve’s thick cargos. A patch of Steve’s thigh was visible and within seconds, Jeffrey had the glucose syringe emptied into the pale flesh.  
“Detective Williams, we need you to step aside.”  
It wasn’t a request, and Danny fund himself pulled back by Chin, effortless to stop himself be pulled back. The two medics worked in tandem to place Steve on the stretcher but as Steve’s limp hand fell to the side Danny managed to shrug off Chin’s restraining hand and follow as Steve was wheeled out.

An ambulance waited outside. Danny took one step, another further up and between one blink and the next he was seated next to Jeffrey as the younger medic raced around the front. Chin and Kono appeared at the doors.  
“Take care of yourself and the boss brah, we’ll see you at the hospital.”  
The doors closed, and the ambulance peeled away.

Within minutes of leaving, Steve had been hooked up to IV glucose, an oxygen tank and electrodes which showed a worryingly slow heartbeat, even for the ultra-fit SEAL. His head wound was briefly examined and Jeffrey sat watching Steve for several seconds longer, before turning to Danny.

“Detective Williams, can I have a look at your head?”  
“Huh?”  
Jeffrey smiled softly, a grandfatherly look that was all Dann needed to see to realise the older man must have had children.  
“Your head, detective, there’s a pretty sizeable lump there and you aren’t tracking particularly well. May I have a look at it?”  
Danny shuffled further back into his seat. “I’m fine, you look after Steve. I’m fine.” But even as he said it, Danny became for the first time in hours, acutely aware of the throbbing pain in his head that had been merely background noise for the past hours. Jeffrey shuffled forward.

“I’ll just have a look detective. There’s nothing more I can do for Steve until we get to the hospital.” Without really getting permission, the medic’s gloved fingers gently felt around the most painful spot near Danny’s temple and now that he’d been made aware of the pain, Danny was also realising how thirty he was. And hungry. And tired. So, so tired.

Without really letting it, his body began to list to the side. Dizziness struck and the steady, audible sound of Steve’s breathing was rapidly draining his adrenaline. He was distantly aware of the hand on his head moving to cup his neck, another one resting on his ribs.

Even more distantly, a voice. “Detective, can you hear me?”  
Danny let his eyes close as the distant voice got more urgent and annoying.

Steve was alive. Steve was breathing. He slipped further down, then away entirely.

* * *

 

Chin and Kono pulled up in the emergency bay, lights flashing, seconds after the ambulance. The driver jumped out, met by a nurse who helped him unload the stretcher. But seconds later, Steve was through the doors, but the second medic and Danny hadn’t emerged.

Red flags were being waved in Chin’s face and in sync, he and Kono raced towards the open doors of the ambulance.

They could immediately see the cause of the delay. Jefferey was crouched in front of a chair, upon which was slumped an unconscious Danny.  
“What the hell happened?”  
The medic was quick to placate. “He’s alright. He’s dehydrated, exhausted, and don’t forget that he too had a pretty decent concussion. We’re just waiting for another gurney. We’ll need him here for a few hours at least to make sure he’s alright. You two will need to head to the front and go through to the waiting room at emergency.”

It was at that moment a nurse came out, pushing another gurney. It was pushed into the back of the ambulance so Danny could simple be slid on and with practiced ease, Jeffrey strapped their blonde friend into place. He soon followed Steve through doors Chin and Kono could not follow.

* * *

 

To say Dr Finch was less than impressed to have Steve McGarrett back in his ER was an understatement. The brunette man was looked significantly worse than the last time, though. His skin was grey, breath regular but shallow even though Finch knew he was already on a glucose drip.

While he cleaned and closed the gash on Steve’s head, Finch knew there was little he could do for the man beneath him. The concussion was already fading, he was being re-hydrated and his sugars brought back up. It would be up to him to fight his systems shutting down, fight the pull of infinite oblivion. Finch pulled the last stitch. Cut the thread and watched it serve as easily as Steve’s life could.

* * *

 

Danny woke to white. White walls, white sheets scratching below him, white cotton wool shoved in his ears. He blinked once, twice, thrice. His vision cleared.  
“Hey brah.”

Chin had casually propped himself against the bed; Danny noticed that for once he was on a ward. It was loud; machines beeping, people breathing, nurse’s shoes scuffing on the linoleum. It was quiet; sick bodies asleep, family members with heads bent in prayer and thanks.

Danny licked his chapped lips, memory of the past day trickling back and the question he was too scared to ask was reflected in Chin’s eyes.  
“They don’t know yet Danny. You know he was in a coma by the time we got there, there really wasn’t much they could do beside try and give him sugars and fluids and rest. It’s really up to him.”

Danny slumped into his pillows, let his eyes flutter closed again. The last time Steve had been hospitalised Danny had been terrified. But it was hot terror; frantic energy, tapping feet and a constant flurry of activity from the moment he collapsed in the cave to the second he opened his eyes.

This time is was less hot terror and more cold dread. Empty and hollow, the realisation Steve would die had settled in Danny’s chest in the early hours of the morning, sinking down, down, down and leaving a black space in its’ path. There was no burning need to _do_ something, no fire in his belly for the relationship that had sparked but not yet flamed. The cold had doused the flame and with Chin’s resigned words, Danny realised that they had been rescued but that didn’t mean they’d been saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo? See you in a few hours.


	7. 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrightyyyyy. So, a teensy bit later than promised, but not too bad. 
> 
> I have made the decision to change this from being the last chapter to being chapter 7 of ?. I don't want to rush this and felt I would be had I finished this up in this chapter. I have the epilogue written, and this chapter, and am currently writing the bit in between. Should be done in the next week at the most. 
> 
> I hope ya'll like this one, little bit of a filler, but it's leading onto the finale. Please let me know what you think, the support so far has been incredible.   
> Rose xx

Chin watched as Danny slipped back into sleep and knew the blonde was not aware of the tears that were slipping down his face. As his breath evened out properly, Chin headed out of the room, stopping at the nurse’s station and writing down his number.

“Can you please give me a call when he’s ready to be discharged?”  
The receptionist looked up. “Of course. You aren’t staying?”  
Chin set his jaw. “No. We’re still working a case.”

Kono was waiting in the car, just as Chin had asked. They’d not yet been allowed to see Steve, so they’d posted security at his door and agreed to head back to the palace. He slid into the passenger seat, legs slotting into the footwell and tapping anxiously.

The cruiser peeled away from the curb and almost instantly began changing lanes, slotting in and out between cars in an effort to get back faster to the precinct. It was effective, as the pair were inside pulling files within less than an hour despite the peak traffic.

“We need to find out what happened with Mason and Simmons, and what Mary and Steve saw.” Chin nodded. “I texted one of the LAPD officers on the way over and had the pull everything they had on Simmons. They had him tied with circumstantial evidence to a few major drug busts, but nothing they can prove.” Chin flicked his wrist across the screen and several files popped up.

“They have photos here” he pointed to one, “And here,” he pointed to another. “Both are with Marshall Picoult, who they have been able to charge with trafficking of illicit drugs.   
“Chin-”  
“It’s not much, but-”  
“Chin!”  
“Sorry, what?”  
“Look at the dates those photos were taken.”  
“That’s when Steve was there with Mary.”  
Kono enlarged one of the other files. “Now look at the date of Marshall Picoult’s latest court date.”  
 Chin glanced down. “That was two weeks ago.” He snapped his fingers. “I knew there was something about that name! Steve mentioned he’d given a statement at a trial a few weeks ago and he mentioned Picoult.”

Over the next hour, the cousins pieced together a likely sequence of events. Mary and Steve had seen something while they were in LA, something Steve had spoken about in a courtroom. They looked through the court transcripts (received on a rush with the help of the governor).  
“So Simmons wasn’t mentioned, but he obviously thought he might be.”  
Chin nodded. “So, he knew he needed to take out the only people who could identify him; the law enforcement officer who’d put away his boss and the sister that had been with him.”

Kono leant across the table, allowing her weight to come to rest upon the table.   
“I don’t get how Mason Murdoc is involved. Sure, he’s a troubled kid, but troubled doesn’t just suddenly escalate into murder. I can see him getting in with Simmons, but that’s still a big step up to running a man off the road with the intention of killing him.”  
“I know. That’s the missing connection.”

Chin pulled out his phone. “Let me make some calls.”

* * *

 

Danny woke up with his still heart heavy, but a more tangible weight against his side. He blinked his eyes open, the room as loud and quiet as it was before. And though the weight was not a heavy enough to be a SEAL, he knew exactly who it was. He lifted a hand, placed it where he knew a small head was.  
“Hey Gracie.”  
He opened his eyes as his daughter’s head shot up, managed a smile for her and her mother at the end of the bed.  
“Danno.”  
“You alright monkey?”  
“I’m fine Danno. But what about you?”

Danny searched around for the button that would raise his bed-head until he was sitting up.   
“I’m alright.”  
“What about my Makua?”  
Danny knew from the second he’d seen Steve passed out hours ago that he was likely going to have a hard conversation with his daughter.   
“I don’t know Gracie. You know Makua’s diabetes can make him sick if he doesn’t eat enough?”  
His daughter nodded. “Well, he went a really, really long time without eating. And he’d pretty sick, but there’s not much the doctors can do.”  
“What about us, what can we do.”

Danny made eye-contact with Rachel, saw the sadness in his heart reflected in her eyes and in that moment, he was reminded how Steve managed to worm his way into the heart of everyone he ever got near. And he was suddenly struck with the feeling of hopelessness that hadn’t abated since he’d realised the door in that fucking basement had no handle and he and Steve were likely going to die alone, that hopelessness settled deep inside his gut and he pulled his daughter closer, trying simultaneously to comfort and be comforted.

“Monkey, this time there’s nothing we can do. Makua has to do it all on his own.”

* * *

 

“Yeah, thanks Gordon. Yah, well catch up for a beer. Soon, yeah. Look, Gordon, I need to go. Okay. Aloha.” Chin shook his head as he hung up the phone. “God, that man can talk.”

Kono laughed. “Try having him at the academy with you. You thought I was wet behind the ears.”  
Chin sobered. “He did manage to find some information for us, though. A friend of a friend dug up some records. There’s an apartment in Simmons name, but the landlord said the tenants description matched that of Mason. Good place to hide out, it’s out the back of town, few other buildings around so it blends right in.”

Kono set to work getting her vest, strapped it on. “Has Gordon magically produced a warrant too?”  
the older male followed suit, tightening the straps round his own torso. “He did indeed.”

“Five-0!”  
Chin and Kono’s persistent knocking had been met with silence at the property owned by Jose Simmons, and Chin had been quick to bust open the door. Together with the HPD the cousins streamed through the door.  
“Clear.”  
“Clear.”  
“Clear.”   
Just as Kono was about to holster her weapon, she heard a rustling from the door. She turned quickly, weapon raised. Mason Murdoc had the look of a deer in headlight; he’d clearly hidden behind the door with the intention of running.  
“Kneel down with your arms out, palms towards me.” She kept her weapon trained on the red-haired man as he did as he was asked.   
“Chin, get out here!”

Keeping Murdoc’s movements tracked with her gun, she watched as Chin cuffed and read him his rights, and, leaving the HPD to process the apartment, led him to the car.

* * *

 

Danny had been discharged at four pm with strict orders to do nothing strenuous and continue to rehydrate and at over the next few days. The rest he could comply with, he had no plans of doing anything other than sitting at Steve’s bedside.

A teary-eyed Grace had left an hour before with Rachel, so Danny had little trouble finding his way to the secluded corridor on which the ICU resided. He slipped through the doors, signed in at the reception, and took his seat beside Steve’s bed.

To say the SEAL looked better would have been a lie. If anything, in the harsh light of the ICU, he looked worse. The sickly pallor of his skin was more apparent, but what confused Danny was the fact Steve was propped on his side, a ventilator in his throat, and, most worryingly, a pristine patch of gauze at the base of his skull, exposed to his side-facing position.

Suddenly nervous, with a growing anxiety niggling in his stomach, Danny stood back up and headed over to the reception desk. He attempted a charming smile at the receptionist, but the pitying look he received in return showed it was likely poorly executed. He cut to the chase.  
“Can you please page Steve McGarrett’s primary?”  
“Of course, just a second.”

The statement was clearly a lie, because it took the better part of a very long ten minutes before Dr. Finch showed up. As he laid eye’s on Danny, the detective noticed him blanch.  
“Detective Williams. I wasn’t expecting you so soon. Let’s go back to Steve’s bed. We have a few things to discuss.”

Once Danny was seated near Steve, with one of his freezing hands clasped, the Doctor began talking.  
“Once we had Steve stable, we sent him for some brain imaging. You know the associated risks of brain damage with hypoglycaemia. We didn’t see anything of that sort, but we did find something slightly worrying. I don’t know if you were aware, but there is a much higher risks for diabetics to get aneurism, especially in the wake of hypoglycemics or hyperglycaemic episodes.”

Danny felt the blood drain from his face.

“We found a small aneurism at the base of Steve’s skull. Luckily, it was small, and we conducted a quick surgery to drain and then remove it.”

“Hold up. I have medical power of attorney. I should have been consulted!”

The doctor sighed. “I know, Danny. But we classed this as an emergency surgery and you were unconscious. There really was no other choice.”

Danny sighed. The logical side of him knew that. the emotional one, the one that was looking at _his Steve_ lying vulnerable, with a bandage covering stitches that had fixed a _hole in his head_ didn’t quite know it. He managed to get the logical part to speak.   
“What happens now? What are the long-term effects? When-” he chocked. “When will he wake up?”

“We really don’t know at this stage, Danny. We managed to briefly rouse him post-op, which is really an incredible result given he wasn’t conscious beforehand. For now, with the painkillers and exhaustion, I’d say he’ll be out for a few days to weeks at this stage. But I need you to remember Danny, it could be longer. He may not recover at all. And even if he does, there’s no way to know what sort of damage was done before we caught the aneurism.”

Danny forced himself to take a breath before responding, to squash down the rage that built whenever he was in a situation, he was helpless. “Alright, thank you.”

Dr. Finch stood from the small perch he’d taken near Steve’s bed. “I really am sorry I don’t have better news Danny. And remember, the ICU’s visiting hours strictly finish in an hour. Go home and get some of the sleep you so desperately need.”  
The two men shook hands, and Danny was alone with Steve and the machines once more.  

Danny new he would be kicked out soon and that no amount of badge-flashing or name-dropping would allow him to stay longer. So, he reigned himself to the short visit. On hand clasped Steve’s the other gently thumbed under Steve’s closed eyes.   
“Come on babe. We didn’t come this far for you to just slip away. You go out in a laze of glory, old-age, or not at all, you hear? None of this lazy sleeping shit.” He tightened the hold on Steve’s hand. “I won’t have it.”


	8. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Hope you like this one... please let me know!  
> Also, just a general disclaimer, I do not know anyone with diabetes nor do I have it myself. I'm just doing my best with research so if I'm missing details about that or any other medical bits in this, please let me know!  
> Read on!  
> Rose xx

Chin glared through the two-way mirror, knowing the man on the receiving end wasn’t even aware he was being stared at. 

Kono came to his side. “Shouldn’t we go in there?”

“No. he’s declined his right to legal counsel. We have an arrest warrant. We can let him stew there for a few hours yet. We need a confession from him to let anything stick.”

“Any word on the Steve and Danny?”

“Danny was released an hour ago. They assured me that he was going straight to visit Steve. We’ll have to get him in the next hour or so though, visiting hours end.”

Kono laughed. “Since when have any of us abided by the law laid by visiting hours?” Her laughter died at Chin’s sombre expression. “Chin?”

“He’s in the ICU, they’re a lot stricter in there.”

“What! How come?”

“He had an aneurysm.”

“That’s it.” Before he could stop her, Kono had stormed into the interrogation room. She slammed her hands on the desk, a smirk of satisfaction on her lips as the shuddering or handcuffs made Murdoc jump.

“You’re going to tell me _exactly_ what happened when Steve and Danny got to the PI’s office.”

Murdoc laughed, again confident. “And why would I do that?”

“Because your actions have had led to one of my best friends’ lying in the ICU and if you don’t tell me I’ll twist your words enough for you to be charged with attempted murder in the first degree rather than a kidnapping or murder charge.”

Kono was shocked when once more, the red-head in front of her simply laughed.  “McGarrett? McGarrett’s in the ICU? Well, I’ll happily take the charge for that. I mean, that was the idea all long.”

Rage made Kono ignore the confession she’d just gotten. “What is your problem? That man has done more good with the tip of his index finger for this country and Hawaii than most people do with their whole bodies through their whole lives.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too, until I was at the beach last year and he watched as Sadie drowned! The first time someone cared for me and she drowned while this supposed Navy SEAL sat back and did nothing about it. No one cared she had died, not even when I went back to LA. But when I went to Jose’s club, I realised there were more people like me. People that law enforcement didn’t care about. People whose loved ones were gone because someone like Steve fucking McGarrett waltzes around pretending to be a hero but won’t save people when it matters. But Jose cared about me. He knew what people like Steve McGarrett do. When he asked me to take out the McGarrets, I mean, how could I say no. it was worth it. Worth it to haul McGarrett’s worthless body into that basement and know he’d never come out. He got what was coming, he deserved-”

With everything she needed, Kono turned on her heal, ignoring Murdoc’s shouts as he attempted to draw her into a conversation on the inditement of Steve McGarrett.

Chin had waited by the door. “You get all that?”

“Yeah. All on tape. I’ll send it to the DA, and we’ll leave it to HPD to process him.”

“Any word yet on Simmons?”

‘None yet. LAPD are still looking for him. Shouldn’t take long, though. He won’t know Murdoc’s been arrested so probably doesn’t even know he needs to hide from something.” Chin put a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “Come on. We should probably head off and grab Danny.”

Together, they walked out, ignoring the furious shouts still coming from the room behind them.

* * *

 

Danny had fallen into something akin to sleep. Eyes half closed, mind blank, the only sensations he was aware of the gentle beeping of the heart monitor and the feel of Steve’s hand in his. He was brought back from his stupor by a hand on his own shoulder. He linked, looked up.   
“Hey Chin.” Exhaustion made his words muggy, slurred.

“Ready to get out of here bruh?”

Danny checked his watch, blinking a few times until the small screen came into focus enough for him to process the numbers.   
“I still have five-minutes.”

Chin smiled sadly at the dishevelled man in front of him; clothes days old, dirty and crumpled, hair in the same state, face drawn with fatigue and pinched with worry.  
“There’s nothing you ca do here now Danny. It’s five minutes. It won’t change anything, and you need sleep.”

With an almost feral growl, Danny glared at Chin. “I’m staying until the make me lose.” His voice softened. “I need to be here. I can’t leave and then have something happen knowing I could have been here.” There was an almost manic panic in Danny’s eyes, a mixture of fear and exhaustion translating to agony that was almost tangible.

Chin exchanged a glance with Kono. “All good brah. You stay here for your five minutes, we’ll wait.”  
Dany’s shoulder sagged, the hostile angle of his body which had shielded Steve from view slumping until both Kono and Chin had a clear view of their boss once more.

Danny slumped over the side of the bed, burying a head of bed hair into Steve’s side- just low enough to miss the ribs Steve had previously broken and the still casted arm. From his spot at the end of the bed, Chin was just able to make out the mumbled words.   
“I gotta go, babe. Don’t want to, but they’re gonna kick me out and unlike you, I won’t threaten bodily harm just to get what I want.”

The blonde sat up some, running his hands gently through Steve’s hair, across his face, past the broken ribs that would undoubtedly be sore if Steve wasn’t drugged up to the gills. It seemed as if Danny was feeling every tangible reminder of Steve’s life, soaking them up before he would be taken away. Too quickly for Danny, a nurse was by his side, not so much asking as telling him that visiting hours had ended. He bent back down a final time, dropped a kiss on Steve’s unshaven cheek.   
“You better be here when I get back.” A breath, long enough for the next words to seem like an afterthought though they were not. “I love you.”

* * *

 

The ringing of his phone woke Danny quickly. Chin and Kono had driven him back to the beach-side house and he’d quickly curled up on Steve’s side of the bed while the cousins slept on the couch. Reaching for the small device on the side table, he brought it to his ear.  
“Williams.”  
“Hi, I’m calling from Queens medical centre. Steve McGarrett has just woken up- he’s a little bit disoriented and we think it would be good having a familiar-”  
Danny didn’t need to think. “I’ll be there.”

Between waking the cousins downstairs, slipping onto a state of semi-dress and driving, it was nearly an hour later that Danny arrived at the hospital. He raced through the corridors to the ICU where he could hear a disturbance. He slowed before pushing the doors open. A nurse met him sighing with relief.

“Detective Williams, I’m so glad you’re here. Come this way.”

As they approached Steve’s bed, Danny could see as well as hear the commotion. The heart monitor as racing, and though the ventilator had been replaced with an oxygen mask, the breaths from behind it were frantic. Steve was mumbling weakly trying to thrash around. The doctor and a heavy-set nurse were doing their best to gently pin him on his side, their hands restraining to try and stop him hurting himself.

Without needing to be asked, Dany was at the bedside, trying to lock eyes with Steve. He managed to restrain himself from touching, knowing the mask and hands all over Steve were probably already making him claustrophobic.  
“Hey babe. You’re alright. It’s nice to see you awake, huh? I thought you army men didn’t need rest?”

The humour was lost but it seemed as if the familiar voice was enough to ground Steve for a second. His eyes stopped frantically darting around the room and came to rest, gazing at Danny.   
“There you are babe. Take it easy for me, yeah?”

Danny could see in his periphery the movements of the nurses and Doctor, but he remained focused on Steve in front of him- alive, whole and awake.  
“You scared the shit out of me, you know that? I’ve made the executive decision that you aren’t allowed to do that again. Okay? And no, you don’t get to consult on that one- my decision. Never again, you hear?”

He knew Steve was mostly not there, gaze glassy but it was the calm that had settled that made Danny keep talking. He continued a stream of meaningless rambling, watching as the tension drained from Steve’s body and the time between his blinks got longer and longer until his eyes closed and didn’t open. He stayed crouched a minute longer as Steve’s breathing even out until the growing ache in his knee won out and he stood.

“Thank you for that, Detective. I’m reluctant to sedate him with his blood sugar as unstable as it has been, especially given he’s also just off the back of brain surgery.”

“What happens from here?”

“Well, we’ll wait until he next wakes up to attempt some cognitive tests. The other thing to remember is that he did suffer an aneurism; he may have after effects from that, not to mention the hypoglycaemia. We’ll be monitoring him carefully over the night and then wake him in the morning for some tests if he hasn’t woken himself by then.

“I’m not leaving again.”

The doctor smiled “I figured as much. It’s probably best you’re here anyway, he was very disoriented when he awoke and a familiar face will be the best thing to settle him.”

Danny moved his chair so it was on the other side of the bed; despite the broken arm Steve had been rolled onto his other side. The cast was awkwardly placed so it didn’t rest under his body, but it likely wasn’t comfortable.

“How come you rolled him?”

“Several reasons. To take the pressure off his arm, to make sure his ribs weren’t being crushed. We also don’t want him getting any pressure sores. Within the next day or so we’ll have him on his back again. I assure you though Detective, despite how it looks, the break in his arm isn’t being disturbed in any way.”

Grudgingly, Danny accepted the answer.   
“Can you let the two officers outside in? It’ll only be for a minute.”

The doctor nodded, turned to leave. As he did so, Danny made sure to thank him. Despite the circumstances, he was, at least, back beside Steve.

Chin and Kono didn’t seem surprised when Danny announced he was not leaving for the night.   
“We’ll see you in the morning brah, when the hours open again.” Chin clapped him on the shoulder, Kono went in with a hug.

“Yeah, see you in the morning.” They left, and Danny settled in for a long night.

* * *

 

The night passed with a cycle of brief fits of sleep interspersed with hours of wakefulness. The sleep Danny managed was disturbed at best; light and punctuated with nightmares. At some stage, a nurse changed the bulky oxygen mask to a nasal cannula. By the time eight-am came and Steve’s attending returned for the day-shift, Danny would have put money down that he looked almost as bad as Steve.

He stood when Finch came in shaking hand with the now familiar man.

“Danny, the night-Doctor filled me in. Get much sleep?”

Danny shook his head.

“I guessed as much. I’m going to wake Steve up now, and do a few tests o start assessing if there’s a level of brain damage. I want you to remember, even if there is any, it’s much too early to say it’s permanent. With rehabilitation, we should be able to restore function, alright?”

Danny nodded, not liking the way Finch was talking; as if he was already certain Steve had brain damage.

“I’d like you here when I wake him, just to keep him calm, alright?”

Again, Danny nodded.

As he moved further towards Steve’s head, Finch also got closer and a nurse materialised at on the other side of the bed.

“Steve? Can you open your eyes for me?” As he spoke, Finch gently put his hand on Steve’s upright shoulder and squeezed. Steve’s eyelids twitched.

“Steve? Come on, I’d like to have a chat with you and I know Danny wants to see you.

At the mention of Danny’s name, Steve began to move in earnest, moaning quietly as his eyelids fluttered.

“Come on Steve, that’s the way.” Steve’s eyes finally opened all the way.

Danny felt a smile come to his face and he gently touched Steve’s head, letting his fingers rest on the pale forehead.

“It’s nice to see you again Steve, do you remember who I am?”

Steve attempted to nod but cried out at the movement.

“You’ve had an injury to u head, Steve, try and keep still, okay? We’re going to sit you up, but you’ll be propped on some pillows so you don’t need to worry about you head.”

At these words, the nurse moved forward and with Finch, they fluidly raised the best and rolled Steve until he was in a semi-upright position with several pillows behind his back and neck so he was supported but not resting on the base of his skull.

“Alright Steve, just a few questions. You said you remembered who I am?”

“Finch.” The noise was breathy, but definitely a word. Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

“Very good, Steve. And the man next to you?”

Steve’s eyes flicked sideways and he smiled lopsidedly. “S’ Danno. Hate’s it when I c’ll him that.”

Danny chuckled, but choked on the laughter when he saw the expression on Finch’s face.  
“Steve, can you smile again for me?”

Steve’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he did what he was told. It was lopsided again, just slightly. This time, Finch gave nothing away.

“Very good. And can you make a fist for me?”

Steve did so, and, watching like a hawk, Danny noticed it was loose at best.

“And with the other hand?”

Again, Steve did, but it was much firmer.

“Good.”

“And who am I?”

“Finch- j’st asked me tha’.”

“That’s good Steve. Just checking on your short-term memory.”

And Steve- exhausted as he was, gave that goddamn lopsided smiles and even as Finch smiled back and told Danny they were going to take him to a neural unit to do more tests, Danny couldn’t get himself to smile back. Because drugged up to the gills, Steve was missing all the clues he’d normally pick up. Was missing that there was, however, slight, brain damage.

“Danno?”

Danny blinked, pulling himself out of his revere. “Yeah babe?”

“Be here when I get back?” And he was still smiling so Danny dd his best to smile back. He reached back over until he could cup Steve’s cheek in his hand.

“Always babe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill, your words motivate me so please leave them!  
> Thanks for coming out,  
> Rose xx


	9. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone,  
> I'd first like to say how sorry I am that this has come nearly two months after the last installment, and if you're reading, thanks for sticking with me! I should probably stick to one-shots for a while to avoid exactly this!  
> I had serious writers-block with this, and I may one-day re-write this last chapter so it's longer (I know this feels rushed). But I hope you like what little I have got for you.   
> Thank you for the journey.   
> Rose xx

Danny had been directed to an empty private room while Steve was taken for testing. It was nearly two hours later when a bed what wheeled back in the room Steve asleep upon it. Danny was quick to stand, and he got out of the way to allow the nurse to lock the wheels on the bed. Steve’s breathing was deep and regular; far more reassuring than the shallow breaths he’d been taking in the basement that Danny was sure would be his last.   
Finch followed into the room, and Danny swung his attention to the coated man.   
“How is he?”  
Finch put on a small smile, gave nothing away. “How about we take a seat.” Sitting himself, Finch gave Danny no option but to take the seat by Steve’s bed; at least it enabled him to gently take his hand as they spoke.   
“So, you know we were running some tests t see what degree of brain damage, if an, there was after the stroke.”  
Danny nodded.   
“I want you to understand, before I say anything, that any damage I not necessarily permanent and it's mild, okay?”  
Danny let out a short breath. “So, there’s brain damage?”  
“You knew that, I think Danny, when he was here earlier. But what you saw, we believe, is the extent of it. There’s a little bit of weakness, but it’s only on his left side and it’s pretty minor. With someone as healthy as Steve, and the relatively small size of the aneurism, we expect that he’ll be able to rehab back to his normal strength.”  
“And that’s it?”  
“So far, it is. He’s talking alright, slurring a little it but we think that’s exhaustion more than anything, maybe a little to do with the weakness in his face but it was already improving during the tests from when he first woke. His fine motor skills are again, a little off, but that’s probably also in part due to exhaustion and it’s not something we’re worried will be an issue once he gets his strength back. His cognitive function seems unaffected. We think he’s going to be just fine, Danny.”

Danny let his shoulders slump, but tightened his grip on Steve’s hand. Finch stood, and he did too; shook the hand outstretched to him.   
“Thank you.”

 The next time Steve awoke, Chin and Kono were both there with Danny’s side. He blinked slowly; eyes crusted with sleep.   
“Babe, you with us?”  
Steve darted his tongue out past chapped lips, a dry grunt whispering through with it.  
“Water? Coming right up.”  
There was suddenly a straw in his face and he took it into his mouth, pulling in the cool liquid.   
“Wha’ happen’d?”  
 “What’s the last thing you remember, babe?”  
Danny watched as Steve’s face scrunched up, the left side less so than the right but it was barely noticeable.   
“Lookin’ th’ detec’v?” The brunette’s eyes were already starting to drop again.  
Danny smiled, smoothing a hand down the side of Steve’s face, eye’s alright as his partner hummed softly.  
“Yeah babe. They got the jump on us, stuck us in a shed. You got pretty low.”  
Steve’s eyes opened marginally. “Bad?”  
Danny sighed; the smile dropped off slightly. “Yeah babe, it was pretty bad. But you’re going to be okay, alright? Everything’s going to be okay.”   
Steve’s eyes fluttered shut again. “L’ve you D’no.”  
His breathing had evened before Danny had the chance to reply.  
But that was okay. Danny sat back in the seat. There would be recovery to come, probably konths of it. And there would be hardship. But there would be _months_ of it. Moths Danny wasn’t sure he still had with his partner. He reclined further, letting his feet come to rest on the side of Steve’s bed.   
They had time.

* * *

 

_2 Months Later_

Steve held Danny’s hand. He gripped Danny’s fingers tightly; partly for the comfort and partly because he simply could- no weakness there anymore.

He looked out at the ocean. The small cemetery was secluded, an hour’s walk the carpark down a narrow trail. The tombstones there marked only buried ashes; a coffin would never make it down the trail. Steve looked down at the stone.

 _Mary Anne McGarrett_  
1983-2011  
Always Loving, Forever Loved

Steve refused to acknowledge the tears that burned behind his eyes as he let go of Danny’s hand and knelt down. He lay a newspaper clipping on the freshly-overturned earth, alongside a flower. If one was to look, they’d see a small section on the front page about two men, named Mason Murdoc and Jose Simmons, and how both had been sentenced to a minimum of thirty years without parole. Steve mightn’t have been able to stop her death, but he made sure that in her last resting place, Mary knew her brother had done his best to make sure her death had been paid for.

He stood. The process was slow, but his muscles were recovering, and his body responded to the command of its’ owner. He walked back to Danny. The blonde put an arm around his waist and together, they looked out at the ocean.

Soon, they would head back into town. There was a debrief to be done with the governor, press to talk to after the sentencing. There was a little girl waiting for her Makua and Danno to take her to the beach. But for that very second, Steve was content to stay where he was, watch the waves crash below. Watch nature, pure and simple in a way human-beings would never be. Soon, they would head back and deal with life. But with Danny’s arm warm around his waist, his sister close though she was gone and smell of salt, Steve was content, if only for that second, exactly where he was.

Exactly. Where. He Was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!   
> For those that wondered, Ke Kaumaha roughly translates to "The Grief" .   
> If anyone has any one-shot ideas, send them through I'll certainly do my best. Please tell me what you thought!  
> Rose xx

**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? Feed the monster and leave a review! Please, they absolutely make my day.  
> Thanks for coming out.  
> Rose xx


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